Rick Adelman was a rather divisive figure in Houston as he led the Rockets to surprisingly solid finishes and, for the first time in the careers of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, into the second round of the NBA Playoffs. But that was back in 2009, and after two lottery seasons, the Rockets moved on, choosing not to renew Adelman's expiring contract.
Rockets fan grungedave at The Dream Shake discusses how despite being a good coach that sucked a lot of wins out of a pretty poor roster, Adelman just didn't fit the Rockets' future.
The problem, however, is that Rick Adelman had tunnel vision. He was coaching to win and win now. Normally, this is an admirable goal. The current iteration of the Rockets just happen to be one of the exceptions to the rule. The Rockets found themselves stuck in neutral two years ago. A mediocre team with no hopes of winning either a championship or the lottery. [Houston GM] Daryl Morey noticed this problem early on, and quickly began re-structuring the roster on the fly.
Reports suggest Adelman bristled at recent trades that downgraded the Rockets current talent in favor of future assets, like the deal sending Shane Battier to Memphis for Hasheem Thabeet and a pick, or sending Aaron Brooks to Phoenix for Goran Dragic and a pick. Thabeet hardly played as the season wound down, and second-year wing Terrence Williams was similarly strapped to the bench.
The Rockets expect to be active this summer, with several free agents and trade pieces in hand. Whether that will lead to a coach ready to deal with a kids' corps or an established sideline presence remains to be seen.
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